


All-Consuming

by Minatu



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, au-ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2014-08-07
Packaged: 2018-02-12 05:16:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2097123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minatu/pseuds/Minatu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For a long time, Rin had turned into a spider, slowly killing everything that dared to enter his web, and it was like a mountain slowly crumbling until all was left was a rock that merely held the memory of what greatness had once been.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All-Consuming

**Author's Note:**

> "It's hard to make a change  
> Think of all the lies that we've been told  
> Everything we can have can all be gone before you know  
> And all I wanna say  
> Is that we've been asleep for far too long  
> I hope that we can find another place to belong  
> So don't go  
> Come close."
> 
> \- Gabrielle Aplin, "Wake Up With Me"

For a long time, Rin had turned into a spider, slowly killing everything that dared to enter his web. Strangely, he was growing more and more used to being a spider. Sometimes he had moments where he felt terribly emotional, but those were few and far inbetween the abyssal moments of simply _nothing._

It was like a mountain slowly crumbling until all was left was a rock that merely held the memory of what greatness had once been. As a rock, he was indestructible. He could be stepped on, ignored and taken for granted. None of it would bother him.

His personality became that of a frightened and injured animal, fighting to protect what was left of its own existence. He lashed out with harsh words that most often managed to push others away. He didn't want people to become close to him like before. He was afraid to trust others with his heart.

What changed everything for him was the stupid butterfly that settled into his web one day without any sort of fear or regret. There was even _pity_. No, that very butterfly was impossible to deal with. Rin couldn't possibly even understand him.

Ryugazaki Rei was an anomaly in Rin's life. He didn't flinch at Rin's harsh words, but instead chastised him. He sacrificed his own desires to save Rin, so Rin became a something that was less of a shark. Kinder. He no longer had to constantly move as to not drown, and it was all because of a butterfly.

The unexpected consequence of Rin's newfound friendship was something that was beyond his control. Rin's heart had been unlocked and all these new emotions brightened and darkened his world to an almost suffocating amount at first. He could barely breathe at first. He was so happy he could die, but then things began to darken and twist into anxiety and fear. Because Rin had felt real happiness, he found that he had been sad for a long time.

Then came the jittery and frightening emotion that infiltrated upon on things Ryugazaki Rei. It was the most frightening feeling that Rin had ever experienced. He didn't know how to deal with it, really. And the feeling only grew in complexity and strength, winding itself tightly around Rin's heart constantly constricting him nearly to tears.

It was the feeling that caused everything to go wrong one night. The feeling that connected Rin's lips to Rei's. And Rin felt this shiver run through him at the most innocent touch of lips that connected all of the dots for him. That feeling was love.

The surprised "Ma-Matsuoka-kun!" that followed after the short-lived kiss coloured the world in black and white. Rin could barely think as he looked into Rei's confused and surprised expression. And Rin was suddenly mortified by himself.

So he ran from reality, retreating back toward the comforts of the abyss that happily concealed Rin's soul from the rest of the world. Rin avoided Rei like the plague, his heart simply couldn't take Rei's rejection. And Rin's relationships that had been so carefully built began to shatter and hang on by mere threads.

Rin became like the frightened and abused dog, dashing and flinching at the sight of anything and everyone.

It quickly became near impossible for Rei to even come near Rin, but a carefully made plan caught Rin off guard and made it impossible for him to run. With no where to run, Rin was forced to listen to Rei talk to him. The surprise was in what those words were. Where Rin had expected to have his weak heart broken, light was spilled in instead.

Rin was reawakened. Very quickly he fell into such a relieved smile and a warm hug that Rei did not mind. Rin did not have to sink into the darkness, and one day, he would be strong enough to push it back even. Hopefully Rei would be there.

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by my seven-legged spider pal. 
> 
> (Your thoughts are appreciated.)


End file.
